"Jeb" Stuart's Letters

Mitchell, Adele H., ed. The Letters of Major General James E.B. Stuart. [S.l.]: Stuart-Mosby Historical Society, 1990.

As one who has studied General Stuart, his life, and his campaigns at length, I can say that it is impossible to know the man (however imperfectly at the remove of nearly a century-and-a-half) without having read and re-read this rare, important, and unique collection of his letters.

From the Introduction by Col. James Ewell Brown Stuart, IV (U.S. Army, Ret.):

“General Stuart was an outstanding military leader who brought the arm of Cavalry to a level that had not before been achieved. He used his position to serve as an inspiration for all of those who served with him, not only subordinates, but also contemporaries. The method he used to inspire his men against formidable odds can be best summarized with a statement he made: ‘The only way we can whip the enemy is through a greater spirit and desire to win—I must strive to inculcate in my men the spirit of the chase.’ General John Sedgwick of the Union Army was quoted as saying: ‘Stuart was the best Cavalry Officer ever foaled in America’.”

Painting U.S. Cavalry of the 1870s

As a follow-on to yesterday's post, here are the instructions for painting U.S. Cavalry of the 1870s that were included with Bugle & Guidon, Inc.'s 54mm figures produced during the 1970s.

Painting Hostiles of the Northern Plains

On Nov. 9, 2001, I blogged on the postcard Bugle & Guidon, Inc., used in the 1970s to publicize its 54mm figures suitable for depicting the Indian Wars of the 1870s between the U.S. Cavalry and hostiles of the Northern Plains, including Custer’s Last Stand (depicted on the postcard). Bugle & Guidon furnished painting instructions with its figures, and I recently discovered copies of these instructions tucked away with a couple of the actual figures. As these instructions are comprehensive and informative, I thought I’d reproduce them here. The first covers the Indians – “Hostiles of the Northern Plains.”

Fallen Stars

Above: Federal Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth was killed in action at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863.

I’ve been putting together a spreadsheet showing details of fatal battle casualties among general officers in the cavalry arm during the U.S. Civil War. According to data assembled by Russell K. Brown, there were 158 general officer combat-related fatalities in the war (78 Federal and 80 Confederate), the battlefields of which he aptly characterized as “the great killing grounds of American generals.”¹

“Whoever saw a dead cavalryman?” was a popular calumny at the time of the war, and I was curious to examine the overall data on general officer combat deaths to discover the representation of cavalrymen among them. (I am doing this as well for field grade officers, but that is another, more ambitious, matter altogether.) Basically, I identify each general, their rank and unit, and the place, date, and circumstances of their death or fatal wounding.

I’ve only just begun this project, but it’s proving much more interesting (and challenging) than I imagined.

¹Brown, Maj. Russell K., Jr. "Fallen Stars." Military Affairs, 45:1 (Feb. 1981), 9-12.

Custer's Last Stand

This diorama of Custer's Last Stand was produced by Bugle and Guidon, Inc., as a postcard to accompany its kit No. BG-18 in the mid-1970s. Constructed by Thomas E. Bookwalter, it depicts the final moments of Custer (hatless, staring at the viewer, and wearing the distictive cravat of his Civil War "Red Tie Boys") and his last companions, including his insuperably brave brother Tom (also hatless, in buckskin coat). The figures were 54mm.

Contents of Mosby's Confederacy

Rather a busy day here and expecting a snowstorm or just a mess tomorrow (we generally get our first snowfall in early December), so not much free time to devote to the blog. I thought it best to post the table of contents of Mosby's Confederacy to give an idea of the book's organization and ... contents. The various tours listed can each be accomplished in the space of day, provided one has a reliable guide, such as the book or a knowledgeable individual.

Mosby's Confederacy

Evans, Thomas J., and James M. Moyer. Mosby's Confederacy: A Guide to the Roads and Sites of Colonel John Singleton Mosby. Shippensburg, Pa.: White Mane Pub. Co, 1991.

From the book’s dust-jacket: “As Mosby said after reading the Life of Marion, ‘I remember how I shouted when I read aloud…the way the great partisan hid in the swamp and outwitted the British.’ As an old veteran, he explained his war tactics to an interested small boy named George S. Patton, Jr. In between, Col. John Singleton Mosby earned a reputation as the Civil War’s greatest guerrilla leader. He so dominated his chosen battleground, centering in Northern Virginia, close to the seat of the Union government, that it became known as Mosby’s Confederacy.”

This wonderful book is relatively hard to come by, yet it is essential reading for anyone contemplating day-trips into Mosby’s Confederacy. It was written by many of the stalwarts of the Stuart-Mosby Historical Society, some of whom I’ve known and many I regret that I did not know. Several of these men and women fall into the category of those we call “old-timers,” in that they knew or knew someone who knew some of Mosby’s men. So, much of what is found here is based upon oral history or rather obscure written sources. Even if you never chance to enter Mosby’s Confederacy, you may be fascinated by the places and events described  in this book and the people who inhabited them not so long ago.

Zusmarshausen, May 17, 1648

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source: Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source: 

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting at Zusmarshausen, a sharp rear-guard action on May 17, 1648, that was the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Source:

Above: A portion of an engraving depicting the fighting in the sharp rear-guard action at Zusmarshausen, the last relatively large engagement between field armies in Germany during the final phase of the Thirty Years' War. Source:
 

Osten, Carl Henricus de, and Cornelius von dem Busch. Schleunige oder geschwinde Action vnd Treffen, so zwischen der Kayserl. Armee vnter dem Command. des Herrn Gen. vnd Feldmars. Graff Holtzapfell, vnd gegentheils Schwed. vnter dem Command. des Herrn Gen. vnd Feldmars. Wrangels Exell. den 7. May 1648 fürgangen. Theatrum Europaeum, Oder Außführliche Und Warhafftige Beschreibung Aller Und Jeder Denckwürdiger Geschichten, so Sich Hin Und Wieder in Der Welt, Fürnemblich Aber in Europa Und Teutschlanden, Sowol Im Religion- Als Prophan-Wesen, Vom Jahr Christi ... Biß Auff Das Jahr ... Exclus. ... Sich Zugetragen. - Beschrieben Durch Ioannem Philippum Abelinum. [Frankfurt am Main]: [Merian’s Erben], 1700. 

Zusmarshausen was a victory of the Franco-Swedes, commanded by Turenne and Wrangel, over the Imperialists and Bavarians, commanded by Melander and Gronsfeld. The cooperation of Turenne, a Frenchman, and Wrangel, a Swede, is the subject of one of the essays in Turenne et l'art militaire, described in my last post. That essay: Gyllenstierna, Col. E. “Henri de Turenne et Charles Gustave Wrangel: Stratégie et tactique pendant les dernières années de la Guerre de Trente Ans,” written by a Swedish military historian, largely minimizes the very real differences between the two. The late Will Guthrie, in the second volume of his history, provides in my opinion a better, more critical account (of course he was not addressing a colloquium in Paris). But then, victory tends to smooth differences. Moreover, Guthrie's account focuses largely on the battle and stresses by contrast the poisonous relationship of Melander and Gronsfeld, good soldiers who were no match for their gifted adversaries.

Seventh Tennessee Cavalry

Young, John Preston. The Seventh Tennessee Cavalry (Confederate): A History. Dayton, Ohio: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1976. 

This is a facsimile reprint of the original printing by M. E. Church, Nashville, Tenn., 1890. It is a fairly straightforward narrative history of the service one of Forrest’s regiments (Forrest himself enlisted as a private in Company D of the regiment on June 14, 1861.). This history is chiefly interesting for its accounts of Brice’s Cross Roads and Tupelo, plus the fighting in Hood’s disastrous Franklin and Nashville campaign. There is, besides, a detailed roll, pp. 152-227.

Forgotten Fights

Michno, Gregory, and Susan Michno. Forgotten Fights: Little-Known Raids and Skirmishes on the Frontier, 1823 to 1890. Missoula, Mont.: Mountain Press Pub. Co., 2008.

In this book, the Michnos (husband and wife) supplement the coverage of their earlier book, the Encyclopedia of Indian Wars (2003), with a detailed compilation covering about 300 small fights of the Indian wars during 1823-1890. These events were not included in the earlier publication. The book begins with a simple state-by-state chronology of the incidents examined. Each chronology is keyed to an outline map showing the locations of the incidents, plus rivers and forts and camps. This is followed by brief narratives of each event, in chronological order, from Skull Creek (Eagle Lake, Texas) in spring 1823 to Salt River (Globe, Arizona) on Mar. 7, 1890. In 1890, the frontier was declared “closed,” and the Indian wars ended. The authors’ brief Summary is sobering in its assessment of the enormous cost of the wars in human lives and property. The Notes, Bibliography, and Index are extensive and well-done.

Henri de Schomberg

Schomberg [Schonberg], Henri de, comte de Nanteuil-le-Haudouin (1575-1632). French grandmaster of the artillery; mdF; superintendent of finances.

Known in his youth as the Count of Nanteuil, he was the son of Gaspard de Schomberg, a distinguished German officer who had served King Henry III as a captain of reiters and had risen to the grade of colonel general of the German cavalry in the king’s service. (These were the bandes noires or “black bands,” so called from their practice of painting their armor black and, some say, blackening their faces in a diabolical manner.) His first military service was under King Henry IV at the Siege of Amiens (1597). In 1599, he was appointed governor of La Marche, and in 1601, he performed distinguished service against the Turks while serving as a volunteer with the Duke of Mercoeur in Hungary.

He subsequently held a number of important civil and military positions. These included: councilor of State (1607); lieutenant-general of Limousin (1608); mestre de camp of IR Piedmont and captain of 100 gendarmes (1614); special ambassador to England (1615); maréchal de camp and maréchal de camp général of German troops (1616); special ambassador to Germany (1617); superintendent of finances and chevalier des ordres du Roi (1619). In 1625, he was created a marshal of France. To be continued ...

An Englishman with Mosby's Partisan Raiders

Capt. Bradford S. Hoskins, 44th Foot

(image courtesy of Bob Daly, via Stuart-Mosby Hist. Soc.)

Captain Hoskins was an English adventurer who was a veteran of the Crimean War and Garibaldi's Sicilian campaign. He enlisted with John S. Mosby's band of Confederate partisans and took part in the fight at Miskel's Farm in Loudoun County, Va. (Apr. 1, 1863), and the attack on a military train near Catlett's Station, Va., on May 30, 1863. In the Federal pursuit after this attack, Mosby's men were cornered at Grapewood Farm, near Greenwich, Va. After a sharp fight, they were defeated. Hoskins was mortally wounded in the fight and captured. He and Ranger Sam Chapman were cared for by a wealthy Englishman, Charles Green, whose home was in Greenwich. Hoskins died while under Green's care and is buried in the churchyard at Greenwich.



Le colonel Armand

Armand-Charles Tuffin, marquis de La Rouerie (1750-1793)

I haven't posted much recently, since I've been busy with my book, but I thought I'd mention this book, which I picked-up yesterday as a kind of divertissement (or busman's holiday) from my daily research. Armand has always interested me, although confessedly I knew little about him (by contrast to Lafayette, his comrade-in-arms, or even Lauzun). And, what I did know of him seems unfortunately to have been colored by some of the calumnies heaped on him by, among others, his rival Harry Lee in the wake of the American disaster at the Battle of Camden, S.C. (1780). What I've found after a brief scan of the book is the portrait of a gifted partisan leader who had the entire confidence of Washington and the respect of his enemies, including Tarleton. In the painting by Charles Willson Peale that graces the cover of the book, Armand is shown in the uniform of his famous unit, Armand's Legion: blue coat with buff facings, blue waiscoat, and "Tarleton" helmet.

 

Stradiots and Jinetes

The stradiots, shown by the five figures left above, were modeled on the drawing on p. 28 (b) of Renaissance Armies. Stradiots could be found principally in Venetian service during the Italian Wars. The right-hand figure depicts the famous Spanish light cavalry, known as jinetes or genitors. It is based on Heath's sketch of a jinete on p. 51 (n) of Renaissance Armies. These are 15mm Mikes Models or early Essex.

Herreruélos

The Emperor Charles V at the Battle of  Mühlberg by Titian

This was a Spanish term for reiter-type heavy cavalry. Verdugo’s editor indicates that they were German cavalry, not necessarily Spanish (Verdugo, Francisco [1537-1595]. Commentario del coronel Verdugo de la guerra de Frisia, en XIII años que fue governador y capitan general de aquel estado y exercito por el rey D. Phelippe II, nuestro senor.)

The name probably came from the application of the Spanish term for a short coat with a collar but no cape (herreruélo or ferreruélo) to the armor worn by the reiters. This armor, according to Nuñez de Alba (Dialogos del soldado) first appeared in 1547 in the Schmalkaldic War. The Titian portrait of the Emperor Charles V in his “Mühlberg harness” is a good example of this armor (at least as worn by a wealthy warrior). The armor worn in the portrait consists of: back- and breastplates; taces; tassets; gorget; espaliers reaching to the elbow over mail sleeves; gauntlets; and morion. The emperor is armed with a javelin and a pistol.

Mount Zion Church, July 6, 1864

Fieldstone Markers for Federal Cavalrymen Killed in the Action of

July 6, 1864

Major Mosby's partisan rangers destroyed the command of the "Fighting Major" William H. Forbes (2d Mass. Cav.) in a sharp fight along the Little River Turnpike near the Mount Zion Old School Baptist Church. Forbes had been hunting Mosby, but the "Gray Ghost" turned the tables on him in one of his most brilliant fights. No one knows exactly where the Union cavalrymen were buried in the church graveyard.

Aldie, June 17, 1863

Monument to the 1st Mass. Cav. west of Aldie, Va.

The monument marks the location of desperate fighting on the Snickersville Turnpike on June 17, 1863. The 1st Mass. was practically destroyed in close combat with the 2d and 3d Va. Cav. under the command of Col. Tom Munford, C.S.A.

We visited Aldie and Middleburg today and enjoyed the splendid, partly cloudy weather of the early afternoon. Beautiful Virginia horse country, not much changed in many respects from the days of Mosby and Stuart.

Giorgio Basta

Basta, Giorgio (b. La Rocca, near Taranto, Jan. 30, 1550-d. Prague, Nov. 20, 1607). Basta was an Imperial (Holy Roman Empire) general and a military theorist. He served in the French-Spanish hostilities of 1589-1593 and the Ottoman-Hapsburg Long War (1593-1606).

Basta's family was of Albanian or Greek ancestry, like many of the refugee stradiotti (soldiers) who fled to Italy following the Turkish conquest of the Peloponnese (Byzantine Morea).

His earliest military experience was in the Spanish army, and he rose to prominence as a cavalry commander in Flanders and protégé of Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, Spanish commander in the Netherlands. At the siege of Antwerp (1584-1585) his light cavalry controlled the countryside and prevented the re-victualling of the city, which was decisive. In 1590, he was appointed commissary-general of Parma's cavalry. He campaigned in support of the Catholic League in northern France (1591-1592) and served under Charles von Mansfeld (1593). He fought against French King Henry IV in Guise (1593) and was promoted to lieutenant general. After the death of his patron, Parma, he entered the service of Hapsburg Emperor Rudolph II as general of cavalry (February 25, 1598).

In the emperor's service Basta won fame in the reconquest of Transylvania (1599-1605), leading the Imperial armies against Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania, and his allies. He contended also against Michael the Brave, voivode of Wallachia (executed by Basta on August 18, 1601), and against Stephen Bocskay and Bethlen Gabor. Appointed Imperial commander in chief (January 20, 1602), Basta took the fortress of Khust (1603), for which he was created a count. He retired in 1605, and devoted himself to writing military treatises based upon his experience.

His first book was Il maestro di campo generale (1606). According to González de León, Road to Rocroi, 136n, this was a plagiarism of Lechuga’s Discurso del cargo de maestre de campo general. (It probably should be pointed out that plagiarism then, especially of technical texts, was rather more common and unexceptional than it is today.) His most important work, Il governo della cavalleria leggera (1612), was an influential textbook on the organization, management, and employment of light cavalry; another work, Del governo dell'artiglieria, was published in 1610. His works were translated into other languages and widely read, and helped to inform European military practice and doctrine before, and during, the Thirty Years' War.

Giorgio Basta rose from obscure origins to high command in the Spanish and Imperial armies during a transitional period in the development of the military art. He was a resourceful general who, like Montecuccoli and Saxe, passed on in his writings lessons gleaned from decades of campaigning. He wrote a practical guide to the employment of light cavalry, an arm often encountered but little understood by western European generals of his day. He is justly renowned as one of the greatest generals of his time.

(c) Curt Johnson

Sources: Barbarich, E. "Un generale di cavaleria italo-albanese: Giorgio Basta." Nuova antologia, 63 (1928); Labarre de Raillicourt, Dominique. Basta: comte d'Hust et du Saint-Empire. Paris, 1968.

Wallenstein’s Lifeguard: The Mounted Companies

Above: Sketch of a lancer of Wallenstein’s Lifeguard (K. A. Wilke)

Imperialist generalissimo Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634) was one of the most compelling, enigmatic figures thrown up by the Thirty Years’ War. A Czech, he rose from relative obscurity to command a large military establishment and amass a vast fortune. When he grew “overmighty,” he was removed from command, charged with high treason, and ultimately murdered by officers loyal to the emperor.

Like most general officers of the time, he had a lifeguard unit, although in his case it was actually an establishment of foot and mounted companies that was large by any standard.

I was reminded of this recently when fellow blogger Timur at De Rohan à Turenne (http://rohanturenne.blogspot.com/) posted watercolors of the lancer company of the mounted guard, and I remembered that I had a file containing a brief article on the lifeguard. Here is the reference:

Freier, Dr. Walter. “Die Leibgarden Wallensteins.” Alte und neue Zinnfiguren, 1970 nr. 8, 165-67.

According to this article, the mounted lifeguard originally (1625) consisted of two companies of mounted arquebusiers (Simonetti and von Haugwitz). Later, this was increased to four (late 1627), and then five (1628), although the fifth company (dragoons) probably belonged to Count Ottavio Piccolomini, the commander of the lifeguard and was his own lifeguard.

The five companies together numbered 500, indicating that each company was 100 strong. From late 1628, it appears that the four actual companies of the lifeguard were one each of lancers, arquebusiers, dragoons, and Croatians. They were described as having a “magnificent” appearance. A second arquebusier company was added subsequently, increasing the number of mounted companies, including Piccolomini’s, to six.

The number of companies, horse and foot, of the lifeguard was ten when Wallenstein was removed from command in September 1630. During the period of his second Generalitate, the lifeguard consisted only of two companies of arquebusiers.

Little Fork Church

The ancient church, which was vandalized by Yankee cavalry during the war, is depicted in this photo from the book, showing the monument to the rangers dedicated May 25, 1904, which stands today.

I probably should have posted this earlier, to go with the Wiki reference, but I got distracted (not unusual for your correspondent).